Semiautomatic oval cigarette feed



M y 1950 I c. ARELT 2,508,210

SEMIAUTOMATIC OVAL CIGARETTE FEED Filed March 7, 1945 5 heetshe t 1 IN V EN TOR. (/2 air/es 17 r d 2 ATTORNEY.

C. ARELT SEMIAUTOMATIC OVAL CIGARETTE FEED May 16; 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March '7, 1945 ATTORNEY.

c. ARELT 2,508,210

SEMIAUTOMATIC OVAL CIGARETTE FEED 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 May 16, 1950 Filed March 7, 1945 Patented May 16, 1950 SEMIAUTOMATIC OVAL CIGARETTE FEED Charles Arelt, Richmond Hill, N. Y., assignor to American Machine & Foundry Company, a corporation of New Jersey Application March 7, 1945, Serial No. 581,426

(Cl. 226) I 7 Claims.

This invention relates to cigarette packaging machines, more particularly to the construction of a cigarette feed containing a supply of cigarettes and equippedwith an ejector for deliveringcigarettes from the cigarette feed into a cigarette box positioned to receive the ejected cigarettes.

Heretofore oval cigarettes were packaged by girls who manually inserted them into cigarette boxes. The total daily production of a girl seldom exceeds 30,000 oval cigarettes. Therefor a great deal of labor was required to meet the production requirements of even a moderate sized cigarette factory. With the construction exemplified herein a daily production of 75,000 oval cigarettes per machine has been obtained in one cigarette factory. Accordingly, a considerable saving in labor has been effected with the construction of my machine. For this purpose a supply. of cigarettes is maintained in the cigarette feed from which a row or layer containing any suitable number of cigarettes such as is ejected into the cigarette box. Then a second layer of cigarettes is ejected to fill the box, and the box is closed.

One of the main objects of the invention is to provide operating mechanism for the ejector which will be set into operation by a cigarette box positioned to receive cigarettes delivered from the cigarette feed. For this purpose the ejector may be yieldingly urged into position to eject the cigarettes and this movement of the ejector is normally prevented bya latch engaging the ejector} A feeler, which is connected tc the latch, is provided in front of the cigarette feed to be tripped by a cigarette box positioned to receive the ejected cigarettes and thus'disengage the latch from the ejector and'permit ejection of cigarettes into the cigarette box. Preferably the ejector is operated by a cam lever provided with a cam follower engaging a continuously revolving cam. Thus, when the latch isdisengaged from the ejector, the cam lever will operate the ejector.

Another object of th invention is to permit oval" cigarettes to be fed downwardly from the hopper without clogging into positions from whichthey are ejected into the cigarette box. To this end, below the hopper there are provided spaced vanes providing passageways into which cigarettes are guided from the hopper to th bot tom of the passageways, and the vanes are vibrated to assure the proper feeding of cigarettes into the passageways.

With these and other objects not specifically mentioned in view the invention consists in certain constructions and combinations hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification and in which like characters of reference indicate the same or like parts:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a cigarette feed exemplifying the invention, the forward portion of the table being shown in section and certain parts being omitted;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the same taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 3, the cigarette hopper be ing shown in section;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the improved cigarette feed taken on lin 33 of Fig. 2, the table being omitted from this view; and

Fig. 4 is a detail view on a reduced scale of the cigarette feed viewed from line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that on a table l0 are located upright blocks l2 and I4 upon whose upper ends are supported strips l5 and I6. Bolts l1 and I8 passing through table l0 secure the blocks l2, l4 and strips I5, 16 in position on the table. A pair of strips l9, whose ends rest on blocks 12 and I4, are detachably secured to the ends of strips l5 and I6 by screws 20. The lower edges of the rear and front walls 2|, 22 of the cigarette hopper rest on the upper edges of the strips 19. The front wall 22 is fastened to the front edges of the side walls 24 of the hopper and the front ends of strips [5 and It by screws 25, and the rear wall 2| is similarly fastened to the rear edges of the side walls 24 of the hopper and therear ends of strips [5 and IS. The front wall 22 may be provided withan opening 26, which is closed with glass, to. permit the contents of the hopper to be inspected. j

Table l 0 is provided with a central opening ex;- tending. from the proximity of the. rear end thereof to the forward end thereof, this opening beingof suitable shape to accommodate various parts hereinafter described. On a base plate 30, which is suitably secured to table l0 and has a. portion extending forwardly between the blocks l2 and I4. is fastened by screws 3| (Fig. 2), a plate 32. Plate 32 extends rearwardly from the forward edge of plate 30 to a point underlying the rear wall 2| of the hopper. Brackets, which are U-shaped, are provided with lugs 34a which are secured to lateral extensions 32;; of plate 32 by screws 35 which pass through holes in lugs 3 5a and are threaded into platetl The legs of brackets 34 extend downwardly below table l0. Leaf springs '36, whose lower endsare fastened .to the lower ends of brackets 84 by screws 31, extend upwardly and their upper ends are fastened by screws 43 to the brackets 42 of a rectangular frame consisting of a pair of parallel bars 38 which are fastened by screws M to the ends of brackets 42. Bars 38 are provided on their lower edges with triangular notches 54 into which areinserted the upper edges of vanes- 46 which areformed' of. suitable flexible material such as thin sheet metal. The lower edges of vanes 46 are anchored in slots 41 (Fig. 1) formed in the upper face of plate 32. The slots 4'! closely fit the lower edges of vanes 45; but are shownsomewhat exaggerated in size for better visibility; A bracket 48 secured by screws 49=to the bottom of a lateral extension 30 of the plate 30 (Fig. 3) is provided with a boss in which. is supported a cam shaft 5I carrying a pulley 5'2 driven by a belt 54. The hub 55 of a barrel cam 56 is fastened on the portion of shaft 51 adjacent the inner side of bracket 48; Cam 56- is provided: with a track 51 which engages a cam follower 58 secured in. thelower' end ofa cam lever BIL. The lower end of. cam lever 60 is split and the-cam follower 53 isiretained: therein bya: screw 6|: threaded into the split portions of the lever. Lever 60 is clamped on" the end of a shaft 62 projecting from a pedestal: 63 wherein shaft 62 is supported (Fig. 4)-. Eedestal' 6:3 is secured to: a: lateral extension 30a of plate 30. To the other end: of shaft 62 is fastened aniarma64 which is connected by a pin 6 5i to'a bracket 66. Totbracket 66- is secured one end of an arm 61 which is fastened at its other end by screws: 58 to the bottom of one of' the brackets 42. Atension spring: 'lll-is connected to a stud 1| secured inv the other bracket; 42' and passes. through a hole 12" in block 12 and is anchored to astrap? 14' secured to: block I2 to" maintaiii camroller 58 against'the traclctl: of. cam 55. Thus the bars 38' are reciprocated. from cam lever 69 to flex the vanes 46 and thereby insure feeding of the cigarettes downwardly from the portion: of the hopper above the upper edges of vanes 46 into the passageways between the vanes. finger'IG; whose inner end is located between the pedestal 63 and the adjoining bracket- 34, has a longitudinal slot 16a through which pass screws 11 which are threaded into the top of the lateral extension 30a of the plate 30'. The outer end of finger I6 is upturned and projects sufficiently from between block I4 and bracket 34, Si) that it maybe pushed inwardly to. the right in Fig. 3 to. insertits inner end under the lug 18 on the upper end of cam. lever 69] and thereby prevent vibration of vanes 46'. 7 At the bottom of the passageways between vanes 45 a layer or row of cigarettes consisting ofIU, cigarettes is formed to be. ejected into the cigarette box- On s'tri'ps is are hinged frames 18' and 19 respectively (Fig, 2), which are provided wi'th openings ('not' shown) covered with a sheet of suitable transparentmaterial, to perinit inspection of the cigarettes; in the passageways between vanes 46. Itshould be noted that the frame I8 and its hinge areomitted from Fig. 1. V

V For ejecting the lowermost layer of. cigarettes from. the passageways between. vanes 46. there. is provided a horizontal slide Bil which is slidably mounted in a box-shaped frame 82 formed. of sheet metal and provided with lugs 83' secured to plate 311 by screws 84. The forward end of frame 82 is open. and the forward end. of. slide 80 normal ly projects from the same. The forward end aligned with vanes 46 to provide a series of fingers 85 which enter the passageways between vanes 46 and eject the lowermost layer of cigarettes therefrom. The vanes 46 may be provided with integral lugs 86 on the lower portions of their rear vertical edges. Lugs 86 extend between the tips of fingersi8fi' when. the slide 80 is retracted to its rearmost position: shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Thus the engagement of lugs 86 with the tips of fingers prevents vibration of the portions of the vanes 46 behind the lugs, whereby thefingers 85-may be inserted into the proper passageways between the vanes when slide 80 moves forwardly. The portions of vanes 46 above lugs- 86: will be vibrated continuously unless finger F6 is inserted under the lug is of cam lever 65.

A bracket 8? fastened to slide 89 carries a shaft 38 which is connected by a link 89 to a cam lever 9i. fulcrnmed ona bracketfifi. secured to the bottom of v plate Bil. Cam. lever 9] is provided with a. cam. roller which is, urged toward the periphery of. a plate cam. 96 mounted on shaft. 51', by a tension spring '97 connected at one end to a stud on lever 85' and. suitably anchored at. its other end to a member 91a supported by bracket 93-.

A u-shaped block 9B..is.fastened.to. cam lever 95- byscrews ilil. A trigger I00, which normally engages. the forward edge of. block 98'and there by prevents the forward movement of lever 9H, is pivoted on a bracket tilt fastened to. the bottom ofplate 36. The lower end: of trigger Iilfi. is pro-- vided with a counter-bored hole through which passes a rod. 113. A collar I isolamped on red I83; and a. tension spring I91 connected to rod 13. and anchored. on a stud I09 secured in the bottomof table, I0 urges rod I03 rearwardly, and thereby causes the collar N15- to swing trigger Hit upwardly on its pivot. until its. upper end is disposed in the path. of block 98. on cam lever SIJ. Thus, when trigger I00 engages block 93, move.- ment of the, cam lever 94. is; prevented; until trig.- ger I00 is disengaged from block 98 in a manner which. will. now be described. Rod I03 may also beprovided with accmpression spring I I I. seated against a collar Iii-5 on red I031 and maintaining the lower end of trigger I-BD against collar I05. In a bracket :20, whichisfastenedto: the bottom of the forward end of plate 3fl, is supported a. shaft I21. Both ends of shaft I2.I project.- from bracket in and. on one end. of'shaftv III is sup.- ported a feeler or finger. L22. The lower end of feeler 522, is split. and. clamped on shaft l2! by a screw l23. A lever 124,. whose. upper end is split and clamped on the other. projecting end of shaft. I21: by a. screw L25 is connected. by a pin I25 tothe-rod- Iii-3. Whenv finger I22. is displaced rearwardly by a cigarette. box B. placed on a, stationary support !28 in position. to receive. a, layer of cigarettesv ejected from the passageways between vanes 4.5,.the lever I24 is, swung forwardly until it engages a stud I2! on bracket I20. Thus the rod I03 will be displaced forwardly against the resistance of spring. IllL However the trigger Illilv will remain in the. upwardly swung, position and will not be disengaged from the block as on cam lever 9! until. the cam lever 9i has assumed its rearmost position shown, in Fig. because the sprin II I on rod, M1 5 is much weaker than the, spring 91 connected to lever 9 I Therefore the spring II I cannot swing the. trigger I00 downwardly until the.cam;..!16 has displaced the lever 91. to. its. rearmostposition wherein. block 98 is retracted out of engagement with trigger I. The trigger will then swing downwardly andthe slide 80 will be moved forwardly with lever 9| as cam 96 revolves, whereby the fingers 85 will eject the layer of cigarettes into box B. Then whenthe cam lever 9| is against returned toits rearmost position the trigger will be swung upwardly in front of the block 98 by the spring I01. Since the block 98 is slightly spaced' from the trigger I at the rearmost position of lever 9 l the block will reengage the trigger when lever 9| moves forward slightly from its rearmost position. 'Then the slide 80 will not move until the feeler I22 is tripped a second time by the same package, to deliver a second layer of cigarettes therein, or by a difierent package. The cigarettes ejected from the passage-ways between vanes 48 are guided into the cigarette box betweentapered strips I29 fastened to the top of plate 32."

What is claimed is:

1. In a cigarette feed, the combination with a hopper adapted to contain a supply of cigarettes, of a series of spaced vanes extending downwardly from the bottom of the hopper to providefa series of passage-ways wherein cigarettes are; guided downwardly from the bottom of the hopper, a reciprocable ejector arranged to engage and eject cigarettes from the lower ends {of said passage-ways, a movable feeler arranged in front of said vanes and adapted to be displaced by a cigarette box properly positioned to receive the cigarettes delivered from the passageways by the ejector, a member mounted for to and fro motion and connected to said ejector, means for imparting to and fro motion to said member, a releasable device normally holding said member against motion, and connections between said feeler and said device for releasing said device and permitting said member to move said ejector and thereby eject the cigarettes upon movement of said feeler by said box.

2. In a cigarette feed, the combination with a hopper adapted to contain a supply of cigarettes, 01 a series of spaced members extending downwardly from the bottom of the hopper to provide a series 01 passage-ways wherein cigarettes are guided downwardly from the bottom of the hopper, an ejector arranged to engage and eject cigarettes from the lower end of said passageways, a movable feeler arranged in front of said members and adapted to be displaced by a cigarette box properly positioned to receive the cigarettes delivered from the passage-ways by the ejector, and mechanism which is set into operation by the displacement of the feeler by a cigarette box positioned to receive the ejected cigarettes, for actuating said ejector to deliver the cigarettes from said passage-ways into said box, said mechanism including a lever connected to said ejector, a spring normally urging said lever toward said passage-ways to cause. said ejector to deliver cigarettes from the lower ends of the passage-ways, and a latch normally engaging and preventing movement of said lever and connected to said feeler and adapted to be disengaged from said lever when thefeeler is displaced by a cigarette box, to permit the cigarettes to be delivered into the box.

3. In a cigarette feed, the combination with a hopper adapted to contain a supply of cigarettes, of a series of spaced members extending downwardly from the bottom of the hopper to provide a series of passage-ways wherein cigarettes are guided downwardly from the bottom of the hopper, an ejector arranged to engagegand eject cigarettes from the lower ends of said passage-ways,

a movable feeler arranged in ironti'o'f' saidmem bers and adapted to be displaced by a cigarette box properly positioned to receive the cigarettes delivered from the passage-ways by the ejector, and

mechanism which is set into operationby the dis-' placement of the feeler by a cigarette box posi-' thereby maintain said'roller against said cam,-

said cam having a contour permitting suflicien't' movement of said lever to permit the ejector to" deliver the cigarettes from said passage-ways, and a latch normally engaging and preventing movement of said cam lever, said latch being con nected to said feeler and adapted to be disengaged from said cam lever when the feeler is displacedby a cigarette box whereby the ejector will deliver cigarettes from said hopper into the cigarette box.

4. In a cigarette packaging machine,-the combination with a hopper adapted to contain a supply of cigarettes and having a bottom provided with an opening, of a series of vanes extending downwardly from the opening in the hopper bottom to provide a series of passage-ways wherein cigarettes are guided downwardly from the bottom of the hopper, an ejector arranged to move forwardly to engage and eject cigarettes from the lower ends of said passage-ways, and means for flexing said vanes to cause the cigarettes to enter the uper ends of said passage-ways and thus be guided downwardly to the lower ends thereof, said ejector having longitudinal slots providing fingers adapted to enter the lower ends of said passageways to eject the cigarettes therefrom, and said vanes having extensions arranged to be positioned in said slots when the ejector fingers are withdrawn from said passage-ways to guide said fingers into the passage-ways when the ejector moves forwardly.

5. In a cigarette packaging machine, the combination with a hopper adapted to contain a suppl of cigarettes and having a stationary bottom provided with an opening, of a series of spaced flexible vanes extending downwardly from the opening in the bottom of the hopper to provide a series of passage-ways wherein cigarettes are guided downwardly from the bottom of the hopper, an ejector arranged to engage and eject cigarettes from the lower ends of said passage-ways, means for flexing said vanes to cause the cigarettes to enter the upper ends of said passageways and thus be guided downwardly to the lower ends thereof, said means including a frame engaging the upper ends of said vanes, a cam lever connected to said frame, a cam for oscillating said lever to flex said vanes, and a device for interrupting the flexing of said vanes, said device including a manually operable detent movable into position to prevent the oscillation of said lever and thereby interrupt the flexing of said vanes.

6. In a cigarettee feed, the combination with means for delivering a row of cigarettes into a predetermined position for delivery to a cigarette box, of an ejector arranged to engage and eject said row of cigarettes from said predetermined position into a cigarete box, a feeler adapted to be displaced, when a cigarette box is properly positioned to receive the row of cigarettes ejected from said means by said ejector,

7. andmechanism which is: set. into, operation, bydisplacement. of; said. feeler for actuating said ejector todeliver saidrow of cigarettes fromv said means: into said box; said mechanism including a cam lever connected: to said ejector, a continu ously revolving cam, a. cam roller on said lever engaging said cam, a spring arranged to urgethe cam lever and ejector toward said means, said cam having a contour permitting suificient movement of said lever to permit the ejector to eject said, row of cigarettes from said means into. said box, a rod connected to said feeler, a pivoted latch having an opening in its lower end through which said rod passes, a. collar secured on said rod in frontof: said: lower end of said latch, a tensionspring connected to said rod and serving to press. said collar against the lower end of said latch, to maintain the upper endor the latch inthe path of: said cam lever and thereby prevent theoperation of said: ejector, a compression spring mounted on said rod and: Positioned behind th lower endof said latch to urge the, same toward said collar,,

said cam Operating to displace said lever rear wardly to a position wherein said lever is out of contact, with the: upper end of said latch whereby said latch will swing. downwardly out of the path of said; lever if said teeler has been; previously displaced whereby the. ejector will be actuated.

75. In a cigarette packaging machine, the com-- bination with a hopper adapted to contain a sup ply of cigarettes and having a stationary bottom provided with an opening, of a series of spaced resilient vanes extending downwardly from the opening in the bottom of the hopper to provide a series of passageways wherein cigarettes are guided downwardly from the bottom of thc hopper, a stationary member underlying th lower ends of said passage-ways, the lower ends of said vanes being anchored in said member, an ejector arranged to engage and eject cigarettes from the lower ends of said passage-ways, and means for flexing said vanes to cause the cigarettes to enter the upper ends of said passageways and thus be guided downwardly to the lower ends thereof, said means. including a frame underlying the, bottom of said hopper and engaging the upper ends of said vanes, leaf springs supporting said frame, the upper ends ofsaid leaf springs being rigidly connected to said frame, stationary brackets to which the, lower ends of said leaf springs ar se, cured, a cam lever, a link rigidly secured to said cam lever at one end and rigidly secured at its other end to-said frame, and a cam for oscillating said lever to flex said vanes.

CHARLES ARELT;

Regressions crrzEn The following references are of record, in the file of this patent:

UNITED: STATES PA'IW Ts Number 2,124,187- Crighton July 19, 19.38 

